History of the Presidency
President: Amy Marcus-Newhall 2023–Present
The Board of Trustees has unanimously selected Amy Marcus-Newhall to serve as the 11th president of ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ. Dean Marcus-Newhall served admirably as interim president in 2015-2016 and 2021-2022, and brings […]
Read MoreSuzanne Keen: 2022–2023
Suzanne Keen, an internationally known scholar of empathy and reading, assumed the role of the 10th president of ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ in 2022. Her work as a scholar, teacher, and leader […]
Read MoreLara Tiedens: 2016–2021
Lara Tiedens began her tenure as president of ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ on August 1, 2016, assuming the title of the W.M. Keck Foundation Presidential Chair. President Tiedens has implemented initiatives to […]
Read MoreLori Bettison-Varga: 2009–2015
Lori Bettison-Varga became ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ’s eighth president in July 2009. She advanced the College’s reputation as a superior liberal arts college and a leader in women’s education, resulting in a significant increase in admission applications.
Read MoreFrederick “Fritz” Weis: 2007–2009
Frederick M. “Fritz” Weis became interim president of ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ effective July 1, 2007, as a national search was underway for its next president. Shortly after the search concluded in March 2009, the Board of Trustees voted to elevate his position to full president, making him the seventh president in the history of ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ.
Read MoreNancy Bekavac: 1990–2007
Nancy Bekavac became the sixth president of ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ on July 1, 1990, the first woman president for ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ and the first woman president of any school in the Claremont Consortium.
Read MoreE. Howard Brooks: 1989–1990
E. Howard Brooks had a long and storied history with the Claremont Consortium before becoming president of ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ in 1989. He began as provost of The Claremont Colleges in 1971 after more than two decades of service to Stanford University, where he worked in a variety of senior administrative positions and as consultant to several foundations.
Read MoreJohn H. Chandler: 1976–1989
Chandler took office in 1976 at a time when both higher education and ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ faced a tenuous future; declining enrollment, budget deficits, deteriorating infrastructure, and disenfranchised alumnae had made the College campus less a community than we realize today. His task? Restore ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ to health, both financially and institutionally.
Read MoreMark Curtis: 1964–1976
When Mark Curtis announced his resignation as third president of ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ in the spring of 1975, few could say they’d changed the landscape of the college — both aesthetically and academically — more than he had.
Read MoreFrederick Hard: 1944–1964
“I believe the small, independent, privately-supported institution is the best way to get an education,” wrote Frederick Hard in 1955. As ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ’s second and longest-serving president, he had a unique opportunity to put his theory to the test.
Read MoreMary Kimberly Shirk: Interim President 1942–1944
With American involvement in World War II, the search for a new president of Scripps is temporarily halted and an interim female president is appointed: Mary Kimberly Shirk. Shirk, who […]
Read MoreErnest Jaqua: 1925–1942
Born in Iowa in 1882 and educated at Grinnell College, Jaqua rapidly rose to positions of importance after receiving MAs from Columbia and Union Theological Seminary and a PhD from Harvard. He was named President of ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ in 1926 and quickly set out to build a name for the new institution.
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